Hi everyone!
Last week, I made a list about 5 Next Generation
of K-Pop Girl Groups. How was it? Was it the same with your preferences?
Today, I will make the list for boy group
version. Before starting the list, let me remind you again that this list is based
on my personal opinions along with some research on the internet and based on
my experience last year living in South Korea.
So, here are the list for five boy groups
that have high potential to be the next generation of K-Pop…
Honorable
Mentions: VIXX, Got7
5. iKON
iKON was first introduced through Who Is Next: WIN, a reality show to
create new boy group from YG
Entertainment, in 2013. Although they lost at that time, they successfully
attracted people’s attention. One year later, they participated in similar
reality show called Mix & Match
until finally, seven boys became the fixed member of this group. This show
helped gaining new fans for this group along with Bobby & B.I, the rappers of this group,
participation in rap competition called Show
Me The Money 3. All of these were great achievements for a group that
haven’t debuted yet, which is why I put iKON on the list.
What
They Got:
1. Solid
Fan Base
The experience of appearing on two reality
shows based on public voting made iKON able
to gather many fans prior to their debut. Last year, they even held fan meeting in South Korea, China, and Japan.
That was surprising considering that they still not debuted yet, even some of debuted boy groups haven’t did that.
2. Public
Awareness
Once again, their reality shows played
important part in raising their public awareness. Beside that, Bobby & B.I’s participation in Show Me
The Money 3 also made people notice
them more. Bobby even won the competition and featured in some songs such as I’m
Different by label mate, Lee Hi and
Suhyun, and Come Here with Masta Wu and Dok2. These two songs received good responds from general public;
topping music charts and winning
music shows.
Beware
of:
1. Individual
Recognition
Currently, YG Entertainment focuses on
promoting Bobby and B.I from reality show, rap competition,
collaboration song, even their song composition became their label mate’s title track. At one point, it’s a
good strategy to increase popularity. However, general public are more familiar with Bobby and B.I as the
rapper rather than group member. YG Entertainment
needs to start associating the two of them as part of the group while also promotes other members, so they will
not overshadow by these two.
2. Similar
Concept
It’s quite tricky to write this part since
iKON hasn’t debuted yet. You’re not really sure about the type of music that they will offer. But
based on their pre-debut performances, it
seemed that their genre is more into electronic/hip hop. If they stick to this
genre, the comparison with Big Bang, their senior labelmates,
would be undeniable since they have similar
genre. Also, there are many groups who have hip-hop concept nowadays. iKON needs to work on something
that will make them stand out among others.
4. BTS
(Bangtan Boys)
Debuted
in 2013, BTS (Bangtan Boys) is one
of the promising rookies in K-Pop industry. This
can be seen by the fact that they received rookie awards in various awards such
as Golden Disk Awards, Seoul
Music Awards, and Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards.
One year later, the boys held
their first concert in Seoul, South Korea for three consecutive days followed by other countries like
Singapore, Japan, and Philippines. Their popularity kept increasing when they received
another awards in Golden Disk Awards and Seoul Music Awards for their album.
What
They Got:
1. Strong
Fan Base
Holding solo concert for three consecutive
days one year after their debut is a big achievement
for a rookie group. This is not really surprising since BTS is on the 10th position for Daum Fancafe
Boy Group Ranking in 2014. Their name also started to get recognized overseas by holding
their solo concerts in other countries. They even held a free concert for 200 fans in Los Angeles,
United States last year.
2. Regular
Viral Marketing
Among all the groups on this list, one thing
that BTS does the best is their viral marketing.
They make a great usage of their official Youtube channel, BANGTANTV. Beside uploading
music videos or dance practices, they have their own section called BANGTAN BOMB where it shows the members’ random activities such as
how they take a selfie,
do push ups or simply play around in the mid of their schedule. There are several times where they uploaded
a song and dance cover or put a spin on their dance practice where they dressed up for special event like
Halloween. This is a great strategy
for them to attract more fans while also make their current fans felt closer to them.
Beware
of:
1. Lack
of Public Recognition
BTS already has a strong fan base, but they
still lack for general public recognition. Only teenagers and young adults know them. Big Hit Entertainment, their agency,
needs to give them more
media exposure like appearing in variety show on main television station. Their current viral marketing
strategy is good, but it only attracts segmented market, which are young people.
2. Repetitive
Concept
Since their debut, BTS has consistently showed
their strong hip-hop image from their music
to concept. It’s good to have a signature style, however it’s getting
repetitive. Their songs
sound similar between each other. This could make people bored. They need to explore something different, but
without leaving their signature style.
3. Block
B
After changing into new agency in 2013, Block B’s popularity increased greatly.
Their first mini album in the new agency, Very
Good, debuted at the first position on Gaon
chart. This also continued in 2014 where their new album, H.E.R, debuted number 2 on Gaon chart and 6 on Billboard chart. On the same year, they held their first concert in
South Korea where the tickets were sold out on the first-day of pre-sale. They
continued by holding showcases in several cities in United States in 2014 and
Europe region in 2015.
What
They Got:
1. Public
Awareness
If you asked about which boy group songs that
often can be heard in Seoul, I needed to think
more about it since girl group’s songs often can be heard compared to boy
group. But, I would
definitely put Block B on the list. H.E.R was everywhere last year in South Korea. It often played on the shops, cafes, and karaoke places. This song itself
debuted number three on Gaon chart prior to its release. Beside
that, leader Zico’s solo songs, Tough Cookie and Well Done,
attracted a lot of attention too by topping various music charts the day of its release.
2. Different
Boy Group Concept
Block B concept is different from typical boy
groups. There is no pretty face, no similar outfits
or no synchronize dance. The boys just write their songs, perform and have fun. It’s kind of like they’re rebelling
the stereotype. This is a plus point for them because it would make them easier to gain
fans, not just teenage girls. Many people sometimes avoid liking boy group
because of the stereotypical image. But since Block B is different, they may feel okay to like them.
Also, the hip-hop concept is beneficial for them since this music genre is the current trend in South Korea.
Beware of:
1. Controversies
In 2012, Block B caught up in video
controversies during their interview in Thailand. The boys conducted inappropriate behavior on the interview,
which resulted them posting an
official video apology on their own Youtube channel. Meanwhile, Zico involved in another controversy for Tough Cookie music video in 2014. He
wore a jacket with American Confederate
flag and used homophobic slur in the song’s lyrics. He apologized for it and mentioned that he didn’t mean that way.
These two cases were quite
bad for Block B image. It’s okay to be rebel, but still you have to see the
context first.
2. Lack
of Individual Recognition
If you mentioned Block B, people would automatically
associate it with Zico, their leader,
composer, and rapper.
Aside from Block B, he also released his solo song and hosted music
show. But if you asked about other members
beside Zico, people would find
a hard time to recognize them; maybe P.O would come to their mind. That’s why their agency has to start
promoting other members too since this year would be the fourth year of their career.
2. WINNER
WINNER
is one of the most impressive
debuts in K-Pop industry. These five boys were the winner for YG
Entertainment’s Who Is Next: WIN reality show in 2013. They released their
debut album in 2014 and achieved an all-kill for their title track, Empty, on the day of its release. The boys won a music show during their
debut stage, which made them the fastest male rookies to place number 1
position on music show. WINNER promoted their debut album in Japan too;
garnering total 25.000 fans. Moreover, they won various year-end awards, scored
endorsement deal, and lastly, held their fan meeting in China and South Korea.
All of these happened just in six months prior to their debut.
What
They Got:
1. Strong
Fan Base
Just like iKON, WINNER also gained many fans
by participating in the survival reality show.
After winning the show, they starred in their own reality show called WINNER TV; making
them able to attract more fans before debuting. Their popularity continued to soar after debut by
holding their first fan meeting in Olympic Gymnastic Stadium, Seoul; gathering 10.000 fans. They also garnered
overseas fan attention by having
their debut album tour in Japan and fan meeting tour in China.
2. Different
Music Genre
WINNER shocked us with their ballad songs
when they first debuted. It’s shocking because
not many K-Pop boy groups performed this kind of genre, especially with the touch of rap sound. Also, the fact that
they came from YG Entertainment that known for strong hip-hop electronic sound, shocked people
more. Fortunately, it turned out well for
WINNER. People liked their songs and thought of it as refreshing; it’s
different from the usual
K-Pop songs.
Beware
of:
1. Controversies
Not long after debut, WINNER youngest member,
Taehyun, has involved in rumors about his iljin past eventhough the rumors died down at the end. In November
2014, the same member caught
up in another controversies with his rude speech during join concert. He made an official
apology after that. WINNER consisted of five young boys that still new in this industry; sometimes mishap would
happen to them. However currently,
all eyes are on them as 2014 biggest rookie, so they should try to act more careful in the future.
2. Boring
Concept
It’s refreshing that WINNER came out with
ballad genre. However, ballad songs have tendency
to be typical and repetitive, so WINNER needed to figure out something on each release. Also, people still
expect WINNER to do the classic K-Pop
style such as having upbeat song
and performing sleek choreography. Because of this, WINNER needs to explore themselves more; they are still
new in this industry, so be creative as possible.
1. EXO
After hitting it big with XOXO album and single, Growl, in 2013, EXO continued
to dominate the K-Pop music industry. In May 2014, they released their newest
album, Overdose, with the same title
track, which received an all-kill in various music charts within seven hours. They
also began to hold tour around Asia and garnered 320.000 audiences. Their
concert album, EXOLOGY, even became
the number one best selling album in December 2014. EXO finally closed the year
by receiving Daesang in Golden Disk
Awards and Seoul Music Awards along with Album
of the Year award in Mnet Asian
Music Awards (MAMA) 2014 where they got all these awards for two
consecutive years.
What
They Got:
1. Strong
Fan Base
EXO
has a big fan base. There are more than 3 million fans registered on their
official website since
August 2014. Beside that, 320.000 audiences attended their Asia tour last year; showing their popularity is not
limited only in South Korea. The latest news is that EXO just added another day for their next concert in Seoul
on March 2014, which made them
have total five days concert. Beside big, EXO fan base are really dedicated
too. Just take a look at the high
sales of their albums, which made them won Daesang
for two consecutive
years.
2. Public
Recognition
EXO is the strongest SM Entertainment boy groups in terms of digital sales. This means that general people listen to
their songs. Beside through digital sales, EXO public recognition keeps rising through endorsements too.
There are many brands that use EXO
as their models such as Lotte Duty Free, Lotte Pepero Snack, Nature Republic, and Baskin Robbins. With many brands used
them as their models, it would make people aware
of their face more in the street. Lastly, there is also unique phenomenon about
them. The fans followed
to buy everything that they eat, wear or visit. For example, when member Xiumin ate mocha bread in one of their reality show, mocha breads
sold out the day after its airing. Another one is when
member Kai mentioned a quote from a book
on his awards speech, the book sales increased after that. All of these could
make people curious about them and increased their
public awareness.
Beware
Of:
1. Controversies
Beside the year of achievements, 2014 was
also the year of controversies for EXO. Two of
their Chinese members, Luhan and Kris, left the group due to several
problems such as overworking condition
and discrimination. Beside that, member Baekhyun
was reported dating Girls’ Generation leader, Taeyeon, which caused backlash from
some of their fans.
Other controversies were lip sync issue for most of their performances, and “inappropriate” behavior when leader Suho received award from Andy Lau. All of these quite damaged EXO image,
that’s why hopefully there would be this kind of controversies in 2015.
2. Lack
of Individual Recognition
EXO as a group has high public recognition,
but as individual, they still lack of it. Only certain
members that the public know such as D.O
because of his acting career, Xiumin because he keeps trending on the
website, and Baekhyun because of his dating scandal. For other members, only by K-Pop fans know them. SM
Entertainment should work on it to
keep their relevancy in public.
That’s it…my list for five boy groups that
have potential to make it big in the future. Remember it’s only my personal
opinions, so feel free to give comments on it.
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